ABSTRACT
Cast Iron Façades in Montreal: Technological and
Stylistic Aspects
Renee Losier
1984
Among the new building materials produced by the
technological progress of the Industrial Revolution, cast iron played an important role in
the industrial and commercial architecture of the nineteenth century. While the engineer
used cast iron extensively, the British architect preferred to carry on building in a
traditional manner.
In America, this new material offered numerous
possibilities to the entrepreneur. In 1848, cast iron façades were introduced in the
commercial districts of New York City. In Montreal, starting around 1860, cast iron was
used along with stone or brick on the storefronts. The high compressive strength of cast
iron made it possible to allow for wide windows in order to present the industrial
products, and to light the interior. Also, cast iron has the capability to imitate shapes
and motifs traditionally associated with stone, at a considerably reduced cost. However,
the North American architectural elite started to consider these false imitations as being
"vulgar and superficial". Some architects tried to use a more honest esthetical
treatment of cast iron, while others abandoned this "strong and light" material
for a more massive architecture in stone.
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